Cleaning House

I wish I was one of those people who was a crazy obsessive cleaner.  But I'm not.  I do want to, really.  But probably not enough, because if I did, I probably would just do it.  But since I only clean my house when I really need to, I must not want it bad enough.  I really often wonder how organized and clean other people's houses really are.  Do they have paper piles they just can't organize?  Are there crumbs on the kitchen floor?  Spider webs in the corners?  I want to know what "normal" people do--how often they clean.  I try to justify it to myself with different arguments.  This quote makes me feel a bit better when I think about my lack of scrubbing motivation.  "At worst, a house unkept cannot be so distressing as a life unlived," by Rose Macaulay.  I tried telling this to my husband once, but I don't think he bought it.  But really, think about it.  Doesn't a house with "stuff" around show a life lived, activities going on, you know, orange construction paper for pumpkins made with a nine-year-old, books that you loved reading.  They are all the stuff of everyday living that doesn't always get put away in perfect little boxes away from sight.  Cleanliness is next to godliness is what they say, but is it fun?  Is it a life full of memories?   Well, from now on, I'll do what I can, but try not to sweat it so much.